"I start to run, start to turn into air, the blue careening off the sky, careening after me, as I sink into green, shades and shades of it, blending and spinning into yellow, freaking yellow, then head-on colliding in the punk-hair purple of lupine: everywhere. I vacuum it in, all of it, in, in – (SELF-PORTRAIT: Boy Detonates Grenade of Awesome) – getting happy now, the gulpy, out-of-breath kind that makes you feel you have a thousand lives crammed inside your measly one…"

I absolutely adored this book! It’s beautifully written and had me laughing, crying, and completely giddy. I raced through it like light speeding through the universe.

(SELF-PORTRAIT: Teen Librarian Squealing with Delight)

Jandy Nelson’s I’ll Give You the Sun is about twins Noah and Jude. Like most twins, they are incredibly close; they have an uncanny ability to know what the other is thinking and can finish each other’s sentences. Noah is an eccentric artist. He’s constantly drawing or painting, sometimes just in his head. Jude is a gregarious daredevil. She loves surfing and makes friends easily. The story begins when the twins are thirteen, a time when they’re experiencing change and exploring life. It continues through sixteen when they’ve seemingly switched roles. They’re coming to terms with the heartbreak they’ve felt due to tragedy and loss, tentatively living their lives and trying to rebuild.

The novel shifts between Noah’s and Jude’s perspectives alternating from early to later years. The voices and viewpoints juxtaposed plainly shows that neither character has the whole story. Throughout Noah’s narration, his artist mind is evident: he’s constantly imagining his surroundings in colors and relays how he’d describe the moment on canvas or paper and what he’d name it. Jude’s are filled with quirky wives’ tales and superstition.

Nelson’s writing is lyrical and expressive. The characters and imagery jump off the page. The characters’ confusion, heartache, and elation are felt through description. Nelson weaves a vivid tale of life, loss, and love intertwined with a message about self-identity and being true to yourself.

This is a must-read for romantics, artists, inspiration seekers, and lovers of words!

We have many anime and manga lovers in the HUB, which is why we created Anime Academy. Originally, it started out as a monthly anime screening instead of our usual Friday night movie back on March 28th 2014. Now we are only a few days away from our one year anniversary!

The very first anime night we watched Fruits Basket and created shrinky-dinks of our favorite characters. Next we had a Black Butler tea party, which is where we created the name Anime Academy. We also had a program all about making ramen healthy.

The very first official Anime Academy meeting was on July 25th 2014 at the La Corda d’Oro program. Since then, we’ve watched Fairy Tail, Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, Sailor Moon, and Angel Beats!. Each program has a craft that coincides with the anime we watch. Recently, we started implementing a drawing and language lesson into the meetings that relates to the anime we watch.

We’ve had some very special events, like our Cosplay night back in October. We are hoping to make it even bigger and better this upcoming year.

Just a few days ago, March 21st 2015, we had artist Susan Sieber come host a manga drawing workshop.

Anime Academy has a very loyal following, and is a big part of the HUB. We are always trying to come up with new program ideas and ways to make Anime Academy even better.

In May I will be at ACEN (Anime Central) gathering as much information and new ideas as I can handle.

Anime Academy is something that I love hosting and enjoy immensely. This is a thank you to everyone who has made Anime Academy what it is today. We are looking forward to another amazing year filled with even more anime than the last.

Last Thursday, the AHML Studio was a hotbed of creativity. A bunch of aspiring musicians and producers showed up for our Become a Remix Master program, and took what was originally a pretty simple, unoriginal, and dumb song (we literally titled it DUMB SONG) and used the Studio's tools to alter and adjust different parts of the song into some really exciting and original remixes.

(All of this practice as producers and remixers gave teens the skills they need for our Battle of the Recorded Bands, where teen musicians record and submit songs to win awesome prizes like TicketMaster gift cards, raffles from Guitar Center, and chances to perform at HUB programs. If you're interested in participating, check out the site or send us an email.)

We first went over how the song was created in Garage Band. Give the original DUMB SONG a listen:

We learned how to change instruments, adjust the tempo, and overlay filters using GarageBand. Then the teens each got a copy of the original DUMB SONG file and took over the Studio.

Using some of the awesome Studio tools like our vocal booth and instruments, they each made their own remixes. Teens only had about an hour and a half to remix. Some remixes ended up being more different or similar to the originals, or that much more complex, depending on what directions and tools teens decided to go with. Teens changed up the instruments, wrote new musical parts, and even did some super creative things with sound effects.

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So here they are, some awesome teen remixes. Despite their titles, these songs are notably NOT dumb.